Recent researches show that aging results from interaction of various stress factors in vivo and in vitro, in the mean time these stress conditions and aging itself are also the important influencing factors during the pathological processes of various diseases. For example, oxidation stress, and toxic aggregation protein are closely related to aging of organism and various diseases such as neurodegenerative disease and tumors. Although aging is naturally inevitable, it is possible to delay aging. As the global population aging is becoming increasingly severe, the incidences of aging-related diseases are increasing every year. In addition to treating existing diseases and disorders by means of medicine, the necessity and demand for preventive measures for staying healthy and delaying aging is increasing. Therefore, strengthening the strategic study of delaying aging and prevention of aging-related diseases has great significance to maintain quality of life, and has become the current R&D focus and hotspot of the health-care industry.
Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is a model animal commonly used for studying aging and related diseases, which has prominent advantages such as, short life cycle, simple experimental manipulation, and rich genetic resources. In addition, it is the first multicellular organism whose full genome sequencing has been completed, whose genome comprises ⅔ of human disease-related genes, and transgenic disease models can be easily obstructed, by means of GFP labelling and whole-genome RNAi technology, it is possible to conduct a systematic and complete life-long follow-up research on degenerative pathology and potential medicament at the individual level, which is especially important to the study of aging and relative diseases. Therefore, the use of C. elegans greatly promotes the explanation of aging-related pathological mechanisms and the development of active compound.
China's abundant herbal species provides a broad resource library for measures of delaying aging and preventing relative neurodegenerative disease, wherein the medicine edible species undoubtedly have huge medical medicinal and nutrition health care values. For example, ginseng is a Chinese traditional Qi supplementing-type Traditional Chinese Medicine, having the efficacies such as supplementing Spleen and Lung tonifying, quieting the spirit and boosting the mind, supplementing Yuan for relieving desertion, engendering Liquid and allaying thirst; tuber fleeceflower root being a famous Blood supplementing-type Traditional Chinese Medicine, has the anti-aging effects e.g., supplementing Liver and Kidney, boosting Essence and Blood, blackening the beard and hair, and strengthening sinew and bones. Recent researches show that the polysaccharides originated from these anti-aging Chinese herbal medicines also have potential biological activities for delaying aging and preventing relative diseases. However, since the occurrence and development of aging and relative diseases thereof are multiple-factor triggered, complex and latent, a single polysaccharide might has the defects e.g., limited effect target and inadequate active function, thus enlarging and enhancing the activity of polysaccharide is indispensable for further development and improvement of polysaccharide-type product. The recent researches show that, the combined administration of Radix Astragali polysaccharide and sulfated epimedium polysaccharide can improve the function of chicken immune system, therefore relieving the immunosuppression caused by cyclophosphamide; Manyprickle Acathopanax Root polysaccharide may synergically enhance the therapeutic effect of metformin to diabetic mice. These researches show that the combined administration of the polysaccharides of Traditional Chinese Medicine with other compounds or the complex polysaccharide has the effects of enhancing therapeutic effects. Therefore, strengthening the research of complex polysaccharide with respect to anti-aging efficacies not only benefits for promoting its in-depth application in the medicinal health care field, expanding the application extent of polysaccharide product, but also provides novel active substance for preventing aging and relative diseases thereof.